Tomato pappu is an incredibly delicious Andhra-style dal recipe made with toor dal, tomatoes, onion, curry leaves, and a few spices. This tomato dal makes a healthy, comforting, everyday-style meal when served with a drizzle of ghee along with plain rice and a side of veggies or avakaya.
2teaspoonGinger paste or freshly grated or crushed
1teaspoonGarlic paste or freshly grated
8-10Curry leaves
3medium Tomatoes~ 2 ½ cups chopped, keep few for garnishing
Saltto taste
½teaspoonTurmeric powder
1 ½teaspoonRed chili powder
1cupWater
2tablespoonCilantro or coriander leaveschopped finely
Instructions
Rinse toor dal under running cold water until the water runs clear. Alternatively, you can rinse the dal in a bowl with water 2-3 times or until the water is not cloudy anymore.
NOTE: If you have time then soak the dal for at least 30 minutes Or skip this step.
Take dal in a pressure cooker with fresh water and cook for 5-6 whistles on medium heat. Instant pot: Manual 10 minutes.
Let the pressure go down by itself then open the lid and check, dal should be soft and mushy.
Heat the oil in a pan on medium heat. Once hot add mustard seeds and let them splutter. Add cumin seeds and let them sizzle a bit.
Add onion and sprinkle a pinch of salt to speed up the cooking process. Cook until onions are soft and light pink or translucent in color.
Add ginger, garlic paste, and slit green chili. Saute for around 1 minute or until the raw smell of ginger garlic goes away.
Add curry leaves and tomatoes. Mix and cook until tomatoes are soft and mushy.
Add turmeric powder and red chili powder. Mix and cook for 1 minute.
Add cooked dal and water along with the remaining salt.
Mix and let it simmer for 6-7 minutes. Lastly, add chopped cilantro and tomato dal is ready to serve.
Notes
Andhra pappu is usually on the thicker side. When you mix it with rice after that you’ll be able to make ladoo or balls out of it. This much thick this dal is supposed to be. But at home, we do not prefer that thick dal, so I kept it on a little thinner side. But you can adjust the consistency by adding or reducing the water quantity.
Always use ripe tomatoes otherwise unripe, raw tomatoes make the dal super tangy.
Adjust the spice level by increasing or decreasing the green chili and red chili powder amount.